Equal pay: anniversary as progress stalls

The 1970 Act, passed by the then Labour government, prohibited less favourable treatment between men and women in terms of pay and conditions. Prior to its coming into force, it was routine for employers to pay women less for the same job.

Next 100 Years, the group dedicated to achieving equality for women working in law, gathered the views of the lawyers to mark the 29 May anniversary.

Cherie Blair QC said: ‘I started my own career as a human rights barrister in 1976, one year after the law came into force, and I fondly imagined that it would not be long before equal pay was a reality.

‘Sadly, I was too optimistic. In the UK today the gender pay gap is 17.3%.  So yes, we have seen progress but we still have some way to go.’

Dana Denis-Smith, founder of The Next 100 Years, said: ‘When the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced his economic emergency rescue package on 24 March, he also announced that compulsory gender pay reporting would be suspended for the current year.

‘It was a move that hardly made any waves at the time, as the UK was placed under lockdown, yet we were only a matter of days from the filing deadline of 5 April, so most companies should have been ready to file. Those that did file, showed an increased gap of pay and bonuses. The situation is clearly getting worse, not better.

‘By taking this seemingly small step to alleviate the pressure on businesses, the Chancellor has unwittingly given them the green light to put the gender pay gap to the bottom of the pile.’

Millicent Grant QC, the first Chartered Legal Executive to become an honorary QC, said: ‘With research showing that women are taking on more caring responsibilities than men during the COVID-19 crisis, equality is taking another big hit at a time when the focus should be on redressing the balance.

‘Businesses must not use the challenges of the pandemic as an excuse for not addressing the gender pay gap. Instead they should take pride in leading on the issue, rather than hiding away; leading not just with words but with policies and systemic changes that result in the equality we aspire to achieve. Their business will benefit from it in the long run.’

Lady Hale said: ‘I’ll never forget the day when a bright woman student of mine at Manchester University told me that she had been offered a job with an insurance company (she didn’t want to go into legal practice) but that the pay would be two thirds of what a man would get for doing exactly the same job.

‘The Equal Pay Act 1970 made that impossible. Whatever the good that it did not do, we should always remember the good that it did do.’